It is October and for me this means I usually start thinking about fall, looking for leaves changing colors, enjoying cooler nights to use the firepit, and some of my favorite tasty things like pumpkin pie and apple cider. Yet it had been pretty warm recently and felt more like late summer than autumn. So, the change of seasons has felt more gradual rather than dramatic and sudden to me so far. I was thinking of some recipes that I might enjoy and help keep the transition gradual before jumping right into pumpkin everything. I came up with chocolate chip zucchini bread. To me it has the feel of summer but also a bit of fall since it is a quick bread that I associate having with a cup of hot tea as the weather cools. Do you have any recipes you enjoy during this seasonal shift from the end of summer to the beginning of fall?
Genesis 1:14 tells of God creating the lights in the dome of the sky to distinguish day from night with the greater light of the sun to steward the day and the lesser light of the moon and stars the steward the night. Then it says that these lights will be for signs and seasons, for days and years. So, we don’t hear that God created our months per se, but seasons (whether there are 4 or some other number) are part of the good creation on Day 4. Counting the moon phases was the most common way for keeping track of time and knowing when to expect seasonal changes. These days we talk about 2 main seasons of winter and when it warms up, construction season. Rather than a precise date or amount of time allotted for each of the 4 seasons in our calendar (131,490 minutes each) God speaks of creation where times and transitions of seasons happen and emerge and are revealed as we see and know it to be true from our experience within creation. That makes it unique and personal like a relationship with the creator through the creation that surrounds us. Having the precise minutes and dates helps modern society function in a coordinated way, most of the time. Yet, I am grateful for the reminder of God creating us to experience Kairos time more than Chronos time.
Kairos and Chronos, these two Greek words are in the Bible 86 and 54 times respectively. The Strongs Concordance keeps track of and counts these sorts of things and gives the variety of definitions and uses of the words. Kairos can mean a fixed and definite time, an opportune or seasonal time, the right or proper time, an appointed time or an occasion. Chronos can mean a particular time viewed especially in sequence, the duration of something as measured in amounts of time, a space of time or interval of time. There’s a contrast between the quantitative Chronos time and qualitative Kairos time. The seasons of ripening and harvest are Kairos time where farmers go out into the fields each day and evaluate and then one day say, “now’s the time.” Then they harvest the crops that are ripe and ready more or less regardless of the calendar date.
The other thing I look forward to regarding food this time of year is the Fall Dinner. It seems like a season within a season to me as churches host a variety of good eats during October. I can almost smell the meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, the melting butter on rolls, the veggies and sweet treats we will be serving at Martin’s on Sunday, October 6th. There’s also the silent auction baskets and items brought for the Country Store. You can contribute a baked good or canned good for the Country Store. Bring items that day with a price and set on a table for those coming to enjoy the dinner to consider taking home with them. A good time for youth to help setup for the Fall Dinner is today, Wednesday, October 2nd from 5pm-6pm. This year the proceeds from the dinner, baskets, and Country Store goes to Dana Stansbery. May God bless your transitions in life from one season to another.
Peace,
Pastor Keith
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